NOROVIRUS OUTBREAK AT A DAYCARE CENTER IN BANGKOK, 2014.

Norovirus is a leading cause of acute non-bacterial gastroenteritis worldwide, affecting developing and developed countries, both children and adults. This study describes an outbreak of acute gastroenteritis at a daycare center of a tertiary level hospital in Bangkok, Thailand during October 2014. Although none of the staff became symptomatic, 8 of 11 children attending the center and 4 of their household contacts developed acute gastroenteritis. No pathogenic bacteria or rotavirus were detected in their evaluation; however, 3 out of 7 stool samples from the cases were positive for norovirus GII.17. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction analysis with sequence and phylogenetic analysis revealed the viral strain was the same strain reported from Taiwan in 2013. Because norovirus is a frequent cause of outbreaks in crowded conditions, early detection and preventive measures are important to control outbreaks.

Influenza activity in Thailand and occurrence in different climates.

This study observed influenza activity between June 2009 and July 2014 in Thailand, a country in the Northern hemisphere with a tropical climate, and compared the results to activity in the United States (US) and Australia, which represent temperate climates in the Northern and Southern hemispheres, respectively. From Thailand, a total of 17,416 specimens were collected from patients exhibiting influenza-like illnesses and subjected to real-time PCR for the detection of influenza viruses. For comparison, laboratory confirmations of influenza originating from the US and Australia were obtained from the US CDC's FluView surveillance reports and the Australian Government's Department of Health and Ageing websites. We found that, generally, the influenza season in Thailand starts with the rainy season. This observation of influenza's annual incidence pattern provides a better understanding of its occurrence, suggesting that vaccination campaigns should be started before the influenza season begins in order to reduce transmission.